Happy Valentines Day! I hope you are spending the day with someone who is special to you. Today DH and I walked on the beach in Captiva Island and shared a glass of wine at sunset. It was wonderful, but you know, I think my favorite part wasn’t even the vacation surroundings, but rather, our taking the time to really talk to each other. I hate to admit it, but sometimes we can get so caught up in school-work-everyday mundaneness that we don’t take time like this- and we should, every day. One thing I like about Valentine’s Day is that commercial aspects aside, it does provide us with an excuse to spend some serious quality time with people we love.

I have to admit that I don’t miss that custom of giri-chocolate or a one-sided valentines Day “confession” here back in Mountain View. However, I do have a sneaking fondness for “Tomo chocolate,” and in that spirit I’d like to share a recent recipe I tried for homemade, incredibly easy fudge. Chocolate junkies can use this recipe anytime to fight chocolate cravings. but I do believe the best usage of it is to whip up a batch and share it with a friend. I took mine over to my new neightbor’s house when she threw a party and invited many of her neighbors, to oodles and oodles of slightly inebriated but positive acclaim.

So, here’s my “tomo-choco” recipe just for you. I’d love to hear about how you enjoyed your Valentine’s Day, what fabulous new recipes you came up with, and your favorite ways to spend special time with your DH/W, DB/G, or DP! Enjoy.

Put pistachio nuts in one small ziploc bag and whack it with a rolling pin or other threateningly heavy object until broken into pieces. Do the same thing with your macademia nuts.

Put a heavy-bottomed pan on a burner on low and add your chocolate and condensed milk. (Make sure there is no water in your pan) Slowly melt your chocolate, stirring frequently. When it has almost melted take it off the burner.

Sprinkle the bottom of your pan with a light layer of pistachio nuts on one side and macademia nuts on the other. Pour a layer of chocolate, sprinkle a layer of nuts on top of that (same nuts for the same side), and repeat until you end with all your chocolate in the pan and nuts sprinkled on top. Let cool and then refrigerate until firm. Cut into little squares and freeze for chocoholic attacks. You can also give some to friends and loved ones.

Rating:8

Original Source:inspired by Nigella Lawson recipe, adapted by me. Please do not replicate anywhere without my permission.

I just want to comment on how mean it is to post a picture of the sand at sunset, flip flops and wine, cruel cruel cruel. It is so cold and snowy here and I am so jealous. Next week at this time we will be landing in Seattle, so hopefully it will be sunny and warm while we are in WA and OR. We had a great Valentine’s Day dinner and I will blog on it soon (super busy week). I will say, purposefully designing a dinner that you can feed to each other creates a very intimate atmosphere, highly recommended. No forks necessary!

I use a very similar recipe – so easy to whip up a quick batch for a hostess gift! I add 1 tbs of butter at the end which gives a nice sheen and helps smooth the texture. You can also add a tsp of vanilla extract or a tbs of liquer to give a nice flavor.